Samos's Gift
by AceTiff12
Summary: Keira's going to get Samos a birthday present whether he wants one or not. Oneshot.


Keira knew the rule. She'd known it for a long time. Her father had made it perfectly clear that every year, this day was supposed to be like any other day.

Today was Samos's birthday.

Keira understood why he wanted to ignore this occasion. No one wants to be reminded that they're old.

Still, a birthday was a birthday. Every year Keira felt guilty about not throwing him a party, not getting him a present, and not even wishing him a happy birthday.

Today would be different, though, because Samos had it pretty rough yesterday. First he'd slept in late, completely missing the regular time that he was supposed to check and water his most important plants (which earned him a scolding from a few of them). Then Daxter accidentally knocked down a bookshelf while cleaning the hut. A valuable book fell into a bucket of soapy water and was almost beyond repair. Later on, his services were requested in Rock Village, so he had to use the warp gate to go there. He hated teleporting. When he returned, it had started raining. The potted plants outside his hut enjoyed it but they sensed heavy winds approaching, so they asked him to bring them inside for a while. Unfortunately, the task ended up giving him a slight cold. He had trouble getting to sleep that night due to his frequent sneezing.

So, in order to cheer him up and make up for yesterday, Keira figured that he wouldn't mind it that much if she gave him a present. It was a good excuse, at least. Surely she could break the rule just a little just this once.

The first idea for a gift that came to mind was another plant. But Samos had plenty of those already. What about a fake plant? One that didn't talk back? Keira thought it over and decided she'd make it herself. The sculptor who lived nearby would be all the help she'd need.

"Of course, little lady!" he agreed enthusiastically when she asked him if he could teach her.

"It's Keira."

"Right," he apologized with a grin.

Though his specialty was stone carving, he showed her how to sculpt with glass. Keira chose this method because she knew she'd do better using a torch instead of a chisel.

After mastering the basics, Keira spent hours practicing. She made dozens of tiny glass miniatures and a couple of larger sculptures. They weren't perfect, but still nice to look at.

When she felt was ready to make the real birthday gift on her own, her mentor sent her on her way with one last piece of advice.

"Remember, Keira-dudette, the most important part of making art is your inspiration."

"I won't forget. Thanks for everything!"

Keira carried her new bag of supplies home feeling excited to get started. She felt bad about taking the last of the sculptor's glass-sculpting tools, but he'd insisted that he didn't need them. As she approached the massive hut, she heard her father's voice coming from the upper level.

"Keira! Where've you been all day?"

"Oh… around," she answered slyly.

Samos caught on instantly. "What're you up to?"

"You'll see… It's a surprise!" Keira giggled out as she ran inside to avoid giving anything else away.

Samos, of course, wasn't fooled. He'd give up lecturing Jak and Daxter if whatever Keira was planning had nothing to do with his birthday. But he decided to go along with it for now, for her sake. _"Thank the Precursors no one else knows what today is…"_

-xoxo-

Moving a few blueprints aside, Keira set her bag down on her workbench. One glance out her bedroom window was all it took for her to feel inspired.

The sunset caused almost the entire sky to become a deep orange color. The look of the dark blue ocean and the sound of its waves lapping… Everything outside was so beautiful and calm that Keira couldn't help but feel enlightened. She loved and adored Sandover.

She was determined to make a life-size glass sculpture of a simple potted flower that would reflect the sunlight and look like crystal.

Keira thought it would be a unique addition to her father's room. She only regretted that it would be the only present she could give him… unless she found more good excuses in the future.

Paying strict attention to detail, she managed to finish before the sun fully set. She couldn't wait to see how it'd look sparkling in her father's window. In a flash, Keira picked up the sculpture, twisted around to sprint out, and called, "Da--!!"

Something hard hit her foot in mid-step and in her hurry she tripped. The fake flowerpot left her hands and shattered loudly on the floor a foot away from her face at the exact moment Keira herself hit the ground. Her eyes squeezed closed reflexively as a few flying shards cut her cheeks and arms.

"Keira!?"

Slowly, she pushed her upper body up and moved her legs until her knees pointed forward and she was sitting on her feet.

She looked behind her. The cause of her fall had been an old engine. She'd been meaning to throw it out along with a few other old and/or failed projects.

She should've done it earlier. She should've been more organized. She should've watched her step. From now on, she was going to keep her workshop neat, clean, and tidy at all times.

"Keira! What happened here?" an urgent voice demanded.

The young mechanic looked up at her father with tear-filled green eyes. Samos was by her side in an instant and began healing her cuts.

"I… I just finished making your gift for your birthday and-- and then I fell and it broke and-- and now…" she sobbed.

"Keira, sweetie…"

"I know how you don't like celebrating your birthday but I just-- since you had a lousy day yesterday-- I just thought-- maybe this could make up for it," she explained quickly.

She wiped her own tears away and looked at the bits of glass. What now? Maybe she could go back and ask the sculptor for one of the other statues she'd made today, even if none of them were as good as the now broken one.

"I'm sorry I ruined your present, Daddy."

"Don't be! Can't you see?"

The girl was surprised that he was using his scolding voice on her. It must've shown on her face, because the sage softened his tone when he went on.

"I don't need a present, even on my birthday. I have all that I'll ever need. I have the best daughter anyone could ask for."

Keira's eyes lit up and she smiled.

"The important thing here is that you're not hurt. And besides," he added as he helped her stand, "just having you around can always brighten up my day. Now, let's find Daxter so he can sweep this up."

"Oh, Daddy," she laughed. They started to leave, but then Keira thought of something. "Um… Can I still say…?"

"Okay, but just this once."

"Happy birthday, Daddy!" She leaned down and hugged him happily.

Hearing it turned out not to be as bad as he'd guessed. Looking at her, Samos declared, "There's no mistaking it. _You_ are my greatest gift."


End file.
